Rose Balston (Artscapes Founder)

Rose is an art historian, lecturer, guide, TV presenter and is the founding director of Art History UK.

Rose founded Art History UK in 2009. After receiving her MA in History of Art at Edinburgh University, Rose followed her passion for Diego Velazquez to Spain where she learnt to speak the language in order to research his work more closely. She then moved to Italy, spending four years tutoring and guiding students through some of the world’s greatest treasures.

In 2009 London’s epic art collections and cultural heritage lured Rose back to her home country where she founded Art History UK. Initially running the company single-handedly, Rose is now thrilled to be working with a brilliant and prestigious group of historian and art historian guides who lead Art History UK’s tours around London and beyond. She is thrilled that the National Gallery London has endorsed Art History UK’s guides – as of June 2018 they deliver the twice daily public tours in the gallery (at 11.30am and 2.30pm each day), with consistent positive feedback.

Alongside running Art History UK, Rose spends much of her year in Dubai where she founded Art History UAE. Extremely surprised to find a hotbed of cultural activity in the Gulf, Rose now delivers lectures, tours and courses across the region to corporate and networking groups and other private clients, including Young Presidents Organisation, The World, Aon, Freshfields, Linklaters, Norton Rose Fulbright, American Express, Citi, Montblanc and guests of the Emirates Palace.

In 2018 Rose presented a BBC documentary on the ever expanding cultural scene in the Emirates. This will be aired on BBC4 and BBC Worldwide in the Autumn of 2018, and thoroughly busts the myth that the Emirates is a “cultural desert”.

In 2016 Rose co-presented ‘Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge’ alongside Giles Coren. This eight part series was aired in January 2017 on Sky Arts.

Rose has commentated for BBC Breakfast, Sky News and Al-Jazeera English, and has written for the Harper’s Bazaar Art, the Mail on Sunday, Mojeh, London Calling and The Resident magazine. In March 2013 Rose was nominated Condé Nast Traveller London Art Expert.